So, we got up at the crack of dawn this morning, got a cheap taxi to the train station and then got the train through the Andes to Aguas Calientes, the town at the bottom of Machu Picchu. There´s only one hotel near Machu Picchu and it costs about USD $400 a night. So, I passed on staying there. This town is just for tourists. The restaurants and hotels, everything. And tourists only come here to see Machu Picchu. We´ve seen lots of people come in with full hiking gear who´ve done between a 1 and 4 day hike over the Inka trail. (I was thinking about that, but …)

The train trip was quite amazing. The mountains here are steep. Very steep. The town is wedged inbeween a few of them. I ca´t imagine how people would have got here in the first place. And now, there are no roads (it seems) so I wonder how everything gets here. Well, there´s rail. So even the mini buses must have come by rail.

Thoughts and impressions. Nothing really. What can I say? Maybe tomorrow when we go up for sunrise in Machu Picchu itself I´ll have one of those experiences that will stay with me for the rest of my life. Or maybe not. There aren´t too many fat Americans here, nor people that seem to be on a search for self-fulfilment (while sucking down a coke.)

Speaking of soft drinks, a few days ago we tried a black corn based soft drink. It was quite nice, a little sweet.